Performing in the 2014 Green Show on Thursday, July 24.
This is their third season in the OSF Green Show.
High Octane Chamber Music!
PROJECT Trio is taking chamber music to a whole new level. Based in Brooklyn, NY, the members of PROJECT Trio, Greg Pattillo, flute, Eric Stephenson, cello and Peter Seymour, bass, are pushing the boundaries of classical music with a high octane mix of jazz, hip-hop and rock. The trio performs to enthusiastic audiences of all ages in concert halls, clubs, and classrooms around the world. Acclaim for the Trio and its members runs the gamut from Downbeat Magazine, which exclaims PROJECT Trio is “packed with musicianship, joy and surprise” to the New York Times, which calls beat-boxing flutist Greg Pattillo “the best in the world at what he does”. Fellow classical musicians join in the raves saying “PROJECT Trio really has it all. They combine the fire and refinement of the finest classical chamber ensembles with the stage presences and energy of rock stars”.
The Trio, now in its fifth year, is drawing new audiences to classical music and reinvigorating existing fans of chamber music through their innovative performances, recordings and their YouTube channel, which has over 66 million views and 75,000 subscribers, making PROJECT Trio one of the most watched instrumental ensembles on the Internet. The Trio, which performs over 70 concerts a year, made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2010. In addition to their extensive performing schedule, the Trio is dedicated to arts education, inspiring a whole new generation of concert going music lovers. Highlights of the Trio’s 2011- 12 season feature concerts with the St. Louis Symphony, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Charlotte Symphony, tours of Austria, France, Germany and performances in cities throughout the US, including Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Los Angeles and New York. Recent performances include the premier of one of their original works for trio and orchestra with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and tours to Australia and Hong Kong.
In 2008, the PROJECT Trio launched Harmonyville Records, their own record label and publishing company. Since then, the Trio has produced 3 full length recordings, a live DVD, and full library of music for the ensemble. A new recording is scheduled in January 2012. Each of PROJECT Trio’s recordings soared to the top of the iTunes charts upon their release. Their most recent disc, Project Trio, was acclaimed by Jazz Review as “a glorious celebration of the music of our time”. This disc builds on the sound that is at the foundation of the group’s success, with heavy hitting originals such as "Dr Nick" and "Fast" and reinterpretations of "Sweet Child O’ Mine", by Guns and Roses and Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo a la Turk.” Their debut CD, Winter in June showcases the versatility of PROJECT, with 12 original compositions from classical to jazz, hip-hop to experimental acoustic sounds. Their follow up disc Brooklyn, collects well known staples from their live show, with covers and originals and even complete overhauls from the likes of Django Reinhardt, Duke Ellington, Theolonius Monk, JS Bach and Tchaikovsky, along with their own Brooklyn Suite, a collection of tone poems from the world they are surrounded by in the city of Brooklyn.
Dedicated to engaging today’s younger audiences, PROJECT Trio has performed and led workshops for over 100,000 students on 3 continents, including over 35 states in the US. PROJECT Trio is instantly recognizable to students of all ages as a result of their YouTube following and appearances on popular TV shows on Nickelodeon and MTV. Their educational programs are adapted to meet the National Standards for Music Education, with specialized curricula for age groups from elementary students through college.
Greg Pattillo, Eric Stephenson and Peter Seymour met while students at the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music, where each were pursuing classical orchestral careers. The trio was founded in Boulder, Colorado in the summer of 2005, forged out of a collective love of performing high energy, top quality music to enthusiastic audiences. At first, the group came up with the idea to do one week “projects” in different cities around the US, with each project including education/community outreach events and concerts of classical works and their own music. The group got its first big break in 2006 when Greg Pattillo’s Beatbox Flute video went viral on YouTube, receiving millions of views in its first week. Reaching out to audiences of all ages through the Internet, live performances, and recordings, PROJECT Trio has since become one of the world’s most championed and exciting instrumental ensembles.
PROJECT Trio Individual Biographies:
Greg Pattillo (Flute):
With a growing international following, flutist Greg Pattillo is known throughout the world for his redefinition of flute sound. Lauded by The New York Times as “the best person in the world at what he does”, his groundbreaking performance videos on YouTube, showcasing “beatbox flute” have been viewed more than 45 million times. Classically trained as a student of Joshua Smith at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Pattillo earned his first job as principal flutist of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. A desire to experiment with his sound led him to San Francisco where he became a founding member of the Collaborate Arts Insurgency, a group of writers, poets and musicians that performed shows of stylistic mash-ups throughout the bay area. This is where he began blending beatbox techniques and flute styles with the sounds of beat poetry and hip hop rhymes, ultimately developing his unique style combining classical music with the street art of beatboxing. After moving to NYC in 2005, he posted his first video on YouTube to show people what he did. The video “Inspector Gadget” instantly became one of the most watched videos on YouTube, leading Pattillo to numerous television appearances such as Nickelodeon’s iCarly, BBC’s Lilly Allen Show, Fox’s Best Damn Sports Show Ever and MTV’s It’s On with Alexa Chung, and launching the success of beatbox flute and PROJECT Trio. Today, Pattillo enjoys a multifaceted career as a performer, educator and clinician, and continues to love sharing and preaching his sound. This year, the National Flute Association commissioned Pattillo to write “Three Beats for Beatbox Flute” for the High School Soloist Competition. In response to the growing interest in Pattillo’s techniques, the piece, along with other works by Pattillo and a book on flute beatboxing technique, is scheduled to be published by Theodore Presser. Greg performs exclusively on BRIO! Flutes. For more information on Greg Pattillo, visit Pattillostyle.com.
Eric Stephenson (Cello):
An exceptionally versatile cellist, Eric Stephenson’s style ranges from classical to jazz to rock and folk. He has performed with numerous orchestras like the IRIS Orchestra in Memphis, TN and the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO. Eric was also a regular substitute for the Cleveland Orchestra. Eric earned his Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees with Honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music and was a recipient of the Ellis A. Feiman Award in Cello while a student of Stephen Geber. As a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, he served as Assistant Principal Cello of the Aspen Festival Orchestra. He has appeared as a soloist with the Cleveland Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra and the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. In 2006, Eric moved to NYC and has performed with countless ensembles and spends most of his time performing with PROJECT Trio. Composing and recording is a huge part of his life. He has engineered and mixed 2 full length PROJECT Trio albums and premiered 2 works for trio and orchestra. In his spare time, he enjoys biking around Brooklyn and playing the tenor sax.
Peter Seymour (Bass):
Dallas native Peter Seymour has performed with a multitude of highly acclaimed artists and ensembles. As a regular sub with the Cleveland Orchestra he performed under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst and as a member of the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. He has also performed with the Houston Symphony, the Charlotte Symphony and the Chicago Civic Orchestra. He was the recipient of the Downbeat Magazine Award for Best Jazz Soloist and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, and Bobby McFerrin. The son of an educator, Peter has been very active in planning and performing community outreach activities throughout the country and served as events coordinator for the New World Symphony Orchestra from 2001-2004. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master's Degree in Bass Performance from Rice University where he was a student of Paul Ellison. Peter is active composing and performing with the PROJECT Trio and presently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
PROJECT Trio on Community: PROJECT Trio's members all live in the amazingly vibrant community of Brooklyn, NY. They are active members of the arts society and culture as performers in many schools, hospitals, and venues around NYC and are also a part of the international community of performers. Every year they travel extensively, playing in concert halls and classrooms around the world. 2011-12 brought them to Germany, Austria, France, and all over the United States. In the past 5 years they have performed for over 100,000 students. The students participating in the PROJECT Trio classical improv camp will consist of youth between the ages of 8 and 18 from the Rogue Valley.
www.projecttrio.com